Your child should stay in the oatmeal bath however long your doctor suggests, typically about 10 minutes. Depending of the age of the child, you can scoop up and dribble the milky water over the parts of your child that are not under water.

Be aware that the colloidal oats can make the tub extremely slippery.

When finished, rinse well, then use a soft towel to blot and pat your child dry. Rubbing can irritate sensitive skin.

Colloidal oatmeal is available at most drugstores and online. You can also make your own colloidal oatmeal.

How to make colloidal oatmeal

Colloidal oatmeal is regular oatmeal that has been powdered. If you have a food processor, blender or coffee grinder, and oatmeal (not instant), you’re ready to make colloidal oatmeal.

Pour 1/3 cup of the oatmeal into your blender set to the highest setting and grind it into a fine, even powder. It needs to be very fine so it will mix into the bathwater and not sink to the bottom of the tub.

Test your grind by adding about 1 tablespoon of the powdered oats into 8 ounces of warm water. With a good stir, the powder should quickly turn the water into a milky color with a silky feel.

If most of the powder sinks to the bottom of the glass, you need to grind it finer.

Colloidal oatmeal baths can offer some relief to the extreme itchiness that accompanies chickenpox. Check with your child’s doctor for a recommendation of how many soothing baths your child can take each day until the disease runs its course.

Colloidal oatmeal is readily available to purchase or you can make it yourself. Either way it can help your child with the symptoms of chickenpox.